1. Technical Field
Aspects of the invention relate to a data-generating system and a method to generate data that is used to form image on a recording medium and a display unit of a display device, and to a program to execute the method on a microcomputer.
2. Related Art
Conventionally, a data-generating system for image-forming, which generates image-forming data according to figure-describing data and outputs the image-forming data to an image-forming system such as a printer and a display device, is known. The data-generating system generates the image-forming data when the figure-describing data (including figure information that indicates properties of a figure, such as a size and a shape, and pattern information that indicates design properties of the figure, such as a color and a pattern) is inputted.
Such an image-generating system includes two types. A first type generates image-forming data based on the figure information and the pattern information to output the image-forming data to an output device, such as a printer, as the output device creates bitmap image (raster image) data based on the image-forming data. A second type generates raster image data based on the figure-describing data and outputs the generated raster image data to the output device as image-forming data.
More specifically, the first type of the image-generating system generates image-forming data based on figure information and pattern information each time figure-describing data is inputted and then outputs the generated image-forming data to the printer. Thus, the printer creates a bitmap image (in which a figure based on the figure information is combined with a pattern based on the pattern information), based on the image-forming data and prints the bitmap image on a recording sheet.
The second data-generating system, on the other hand, creates bitmap image data (based on figure information and pattern information contained in figure-describing data) every time the figure-describing data is inputted by combining a figure and a pattern, and outputs the bitmap image data to the printer as image-forming data so that the printer outputs the bitmap image on a recording sheet. An example of the image-generating system of the second type is disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. HEI10-293659.
When the figure-describing data contains information to modify the figure in the first data-generating system, the printer is operated to create the bitmap image data and thereafter modify the figure according to the modifying information. On the other hand, the second data-generating system is adapted to create the bitmap image data and thereafter modify the bitmap image data according to the modifying information.
In the above configurations, the modification is applied to the multi-valued bitmap image data, which is the figure being applied with the pattern according to the figure information and the pattern information as the bitmap image data is modified. Thus, an increased volume of memory is required for a modification process.